U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has made Tuesday a previously unannounced visit to Iraq. The vice president has been meeting with Iraqi leaders, about a month before a deadline for U.S. forces to withdraw from the country.
美国副总统拜登星期二对伊拉克进行了事前没有宣布的访问。这次访问正值美军还有一个月就要从伊拉克撤军之际。
With the U.S. military mission in Iraq winding down, Vice President Biden went to Baghdad. The visit was designed to help shape the future of the relationship between the two countries.
副总统拜登在美国在伊拉克的军事使命即将结束之际抵达了巴格达。这次访问是为了帮助增进两国未来关系而进行的。
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the vice president's stop in the Iraqi capital shows that President Barack Obama is keeping the promise he made in 2008 to end the Iraq war.
白宫发言人卡尼说，拜登副总统到伊拉克首都访问，显示奥巴马总统遵守着他本人在2008年所作的结束伊拉克战争的承诺。
"We are withdrawing the remaining U.S. forces from Iraq, and we are ending that war responsibly and giving the Iraqi people the chance for a better future that they deserve, and also maintaining an important strategic relationship with Iraq," said Biden.
卡尼说：“我们将从伊拉克撤离目前剩余的美军部队， 以负责任的态度结束这场战争，让伊拉克人民得到掌握他们应得的更美好未来的机会，并继续保持我们和伊拉克之间的重要战略伙伴关系。”
A White House statement says the vice president made the visit to meet with Iraq's leaders and participate in an event recognizing the sacrifices and accomplishments of U.S. and Iraqi troops.
白宫的声明说，拜登访问伊拉克是为了会见伊拉克领导人，并参加了纪念美国和伊拉克军队所做出的牺牲和取得的成就的仪式。
In the meetings with Iraqi leaders, the vice president was expected to focus largely on the future of Washington's military relationship with Iraq. The location of Iraq, between Iran and Syria, makes it an especially strategic U.S. ally.
拜登与伊拉克领导人减免预计将重点讨论两国的军事关系。伊拉克地处伊朗和叙利亚之间，因此是美国特别重要的战略盟友。
Officials in Baghdad have said they want U.S. military training help for their security forces. U.S. officials are trying to determine how to help Iraq develop its abilities to fight terrorism.
巴格达官员已经表示，他们希望美国军队帮助培训伊拉克安全部队。美国官员在设法判断如何帮助伊拉克增强自己的反恐能力。
A suicide car bombing Monday killed at least 19 people at the gates of a prison north of Baghdad. And 15 people died from a series of explosions on Saturday.
星期一，巴格达北部一所监狱门口发生自杀汽车炸弹爆炸，造成至少19人丧生。上星期六发生的一系列爆炸导致15人丧生。
The trip to Iraq is Biden's eighth since taking office. The visit was added to a previously-scheduled trip to Turkey and Greece.
拜登此次访问伊拉克是他就任以来第8次到访。
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is scheduled to visit Washington on December 12.
伊拉克总理马利基定于12月12号访问华盛顿。
All U.S. forces are to leave Iraq by December 31, under a security agreement the two nations approved in 2008.
美军定于12月31日前全部撤离伊拉克， 两国于2008年批准的安全协议明确了这一点。
About 14,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from about 170,000 at the war's height.
目前有大约1万4千名美军仍在伊拉克，驻伊拉克的美军人数最多曾达到17万。
Almost 4,500 American service members have died in Iraq since the U.S. invaded in March, 2003. The Iraq war is one of the longest military conflicts in U.S. history.
伊拉克战争从2003年3月开始，是美国历史上为时最长的军事行动。大约有4500名美国军人在这场战争中献身。 |